Haunted
by Penny Shepard
Summary: When a dead marine leads the team to a dark house, members of team Gibbs start going missing and are forced to face their darkest fears and threatened with their lives. Can Gibbs stop the psycho threatening his team? Please read and review )
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys Happy HOLLYween to you all, well for when it comes. Also it's only 74 more days until Christmas whoop! So in keeping with the holiday spirits this fic is going to be spooky related LOL. Enjoy xxx**

'Where do you want this one to go Pen?' Jenny said as she carried a box into the hall of Penny and McGee's new house.

'Just dump it there; I'll sort it in a minute.' Penny replied, noticing her mom arch her back with discomfort. 'You shouldn't be carrying stuff you know, go sit down for a bit.' She added.

'I'll be fine, stop worrying so much!' Jenny said a little sharply, fed up of everyone mollycoddling her.

'Mom it's not that long since you had a baby; so seriously, go sit down and rest for a while.' Penny replied as she grabbed Jenny by the shoulders and guided her into the living room and sat her on the new sofa. 'I'll make you a nice coffee.' She added.

One of the first things she'd done was to unpack the coffee machine, knowing how much they would all need one throughout the day. She disappeared into the kitchen and switched on the coffee machine, just as McGee arrived with the van load of stuff from his apartment.

'Hey, I'm making coffee if you want one.' She said.

'You have no idea how much I love those words right now.' McGee replied, making Penny laugh.

'Three coffees coming up then.' She said as Gibbs arrived as well, making herself a cup of tea.

After a few minutes she handed Jenny a small mug of coffee exactly how she liked it, whilst Gibbs and McGee had disappeared to the van.

'I can't believe you're actually moving out.' Jenny said as Penny sat beside her.

'I know, it's going to seem strange coming down in the mornings and not seeing you at the table.' Penny replied.

'Well you know that we're just across the road if you ever need anything and you're always welcome home, anytime.' Jenny said as she hugged her daughter tightly. 'Should go without saying.'

'Anyone would think you were moving a million miles away.' Gibbs said as he returned.

'I know, but I'm really going to miss you guys…regardless of how far away I am.' Penny retorted.

Jenny hugged her daughter tightly once again before she stood up and passed Gibbs his mug of coffee. He took a sip as Jenny wrapped her arm around his waist and he smiled with delight.

'I'm going to really miss your coffee in the mornings Penny.' He said as he took another sip. 'You've always made good coffee.'

'Well of course I do Gibbs, I learned how to make it from the best; besides, my life wouldn't be worth living if I made you crap coffee.' She said with a grin, making everyone chuckle. 'At least with me being so close you have an immediate and willing babysitter on hand.' She added with a smile as she looked at baby Olivia in her pram.

Olivia was now just over a month old and was laid in her pram, alert and listening intently to the sounds around her.

'Don't let us hear you say that too often Penny, might just take you up on the offer, might not come back either.' Gibbs joked, resulting in a hard slap on the arm from his wife as she smiled.

'Jethro!' She scolded playfully, knowing he was only joking. He loved being a father and she knew that really.

She had noticed that his sense of humour had been coming out more and more in recent weeks, ever since Olivia had been born. It pleased her to see him so relaxed and happy and she loved watching him with his daughter. She'd been particularly surprised when he had begrudged going back to NCIS once his paternity leave had come to an end.

'So how much more have you got to move?' Penny said as she turned to McGee.

'There's six or seven boxes in the van now and that's it; my apartment is now empty. All I've to do next is hand the keys back to my landlord.' He explained.

'Yay! And then comes the really fun part of unpacking.' She replied slightly sarcastically.

Once all the boxes were in, and they were happy the young couple could manage from there, Jenny, Gibbs and Olivia left Penny and McGee to it. They unpacked all of the necessary things first, making sure that they hand somewhere warm and comfy to sleep that night, something to cook with and somewhere to sit back and relax.

It had taken them most of the day and they were now tired and ready to call it a night. However, Gibbs had other ideas.

Just as they'd settled down on the sofa, arms wrapped around each other and a film just starting on their new TV, Gibbs arrived with that oh so familiar look on his face.

'Everything alright Gibbs?' Penny asked.

'DiNozzo just called; we've got a dead marine in Anacostia Park.' He replied.

'Right, give me a second to get changed into something more appropriate then.' Penny said as she rushed upstairs to look for some fresh clothes.

It didn't take too long before they were on the road and heading to their crime scene, preparing themselves for a long night ahead of them.


	2. Chapter 2

It was getting dark by the time they'd arrived at Anacostia Park and they could barely see their body. Tony and Ziva were already there and in the process of rigging their outside lights so that they could see. Ducky and Palmer were on standby, ready for action once they could see the body.

'What do we know DiNozzo?' Gibbs asked as he approached the younger agent.

'Not a lot yet Boss. A woman was walking her dog when she came across the body, didn't see anything else though.' Tony explained.

'He been dead long Duck?'

'I'd say that he's been dead about two hours judging by the coagulation of his blood, but according to his liver temperature it's around three hours; however, the cold weather could have contributed to that.' Ducky said as he and Jimmy began examining the body.

The rest of the team began taking photographs of the crime scene and of the body. Penny and McGee were tasked with combing the area for any evidence. They weren't able to bag much, but they did find some cigarette butts which could be helpful.

After a few hours they'd completed their search of the scene and Ducky and Jimmy took the body back to autopsy. Gibbs didn't see much point in starting the investigation in, what was now, the middle of the night. The body would still be waiting for them in the morning and they'd probably stand a better chance of collating information.

The team were grateful of their dismissal for the night, all exhausted and ready for their bed. Penny and McGee were excited to spend their first night together in their new house, but they were both too exhausted to really appreciate it.

The next morning and they all gathered early, having only had a few hours sleep. They were all tired, but the previous night's events made sure they were all working hard to gather some information on the marine.

They'd identified him as First Lieutenant Carl Andrews, 26, married with two children, but no information to indicate why he was murdered. He had a good, clean record, had completed two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was due to leave for his third tour in a couple of weeks. His superiors had advised that Andrews was an exemplary marine and that they were considering him for promotion. Nothing they found indicated anything suspicious and this troubled Gibbs.

He hoped that Ducky could tell him something about the way their marine died. He figured that if they could establish how he died it would be a lot more information than what they had at the moment.

As he entered autopsy he could see Andrews' body laid out on the autopsy table with Ducky bent over him examining some abrasions on his knuckles and knees.

'As usual Jethro your timing is impeccable.' Ducky said.

'What've you got?'

'Well young Andrews here was in a fight before he died, but these abrasions on his knees are particularly interesting. He has severe bruising to his face and across his back and torso. I think he was forced to his knees after being beaten and then had his neck snapped. Whoever did this was strong to overpower him.' Ducky explained.

'So it was the snapping of his neck that killed him?' Gibbs asked.

'Yes I believe so. Even though x-rays of his skull show fractures and he had a nasty lesion on the back of his head, I don't believe the blow was fatal. However, what I can tell you about the wound was that we pulled what appear to be wood splinters from it. I've sent them up to Abby.' Ducky explained.

So that was where Gibbs headed next. Now that they knew the how, he was hoping that Abby had found more information from the crime scene to indicate the why.

'What've you got Abs?' He asked as he swept into her lab, caf-pow in hand.

'A cold! First one in almost five years Gibbs my immune system is seriously whacked…' Abby began to say before Gibbs interrupted her.

'Abs, the case.' He said simply.

'Well the dirt and grass stains on his clothing would suggest that there was an altercation, but it wasn't where his body was found. The mineral compounds aren't nearly the same as the ones in the soil at the park. My guess is that his body was dumped after he was murdered. Also the splinters Ducky pulled from the head wound are from a baseball bat, but it's way old, like twenty or thirty years old. There's something else Gibbs.' She explained as she led him to a white t-shirt and held it up for him. 'An address is written on his shirt in black marker pen.'

Gibbs examined the address with intent confusion. In all his years as an investigator he had to admit that this was a new one, even for him. The address read 3298 Elm Street, 20032.

He took the address up to the team to investigate further, knowing that it was now going to be one of those investigations where their killer was going to toy with them.

He kissed Abby on the forehead as always as he was about to leave but stopped suddenly and looked at her with concern.

'You're burning up Abs!' He said as he placed his hand against her feverish head. 'Why don't you go for a lay down for a while?'

She nodded silently and disappeared as Gibbs took the elevator back up to the bullpen.

He passed on all the information to his team before disappearing to get more coffee, stopping off at the pharmacy on his way.

'So guys it's taken me a while but I've finally found some information about the address.' Penny explained with excitement. 'About fifteen years ago it belonged to the Trescott family. The father was a Navy Captain; his two sons were Navy First Lieutenants. Seemingly one of the sons went crazy one day and took a gun to his entire family.' Penny explained.

'Was the guy caught?' Tony asked as he listened intently to what she had to say.

'Eventually he was, but not before he murdered about twenty people. According to the file he suffered from PTSD and suffered serious reoccurring nightmares. Basically the people he kidnapped and murdered he tortured first and killed them in the manners that he feared. I think he was re-living some sort of trauma he'd experienced and was acting them out in the hope of ridding himself of them.' Penny replied.

'So what happened to the guy?' Tony interrupted, only this time it was McGee who answered.

'He was finally caught thirteen years ago and sentenced to life in prison without parole.' McGee said as he read from the information on his computer.

'…and the house has been empty ever since.' Penny added.

'So why would someone leave that address at out crime scene?' Ziva asked with confusion.

'Well that's what we're going to find out.' Gibbs said as he returned with his coffee, grabbing his gear from his desk.

The team all copied, gearing up with their sidearms and rucksacks before heading down to the parking lot and out to 3298 Elm Street.


	3. Chapter 3

The team pulled up outside the house and looked up at its grey, run down exterior. It was a detached five bedroom house, with a large garden to the front, which was very over grown with bushes, weeds and tall grass. Many of the shutters that had been on the windows were hanging off, or had already fallen off, and the windows that weren't broken were boarded up.

Penny didn't have a very positive feeling about the place, in fact she felt a shiver run down her spine and she couldn't shift the feeling that they were being watched.

Ziva also felt that they were being watched, but she couldn't see anyone to confirm it. She put her feelings down to the fact that the house was creepy, even she had to admit that.

They all pulled out their weapons and their flashlights, discovering that the house on the inside was pitch-black, even though it was still daylight outside. They split up and looked in each room, checking for anyone present and shouting "clear" once they were satisfied it was empty.

'The house is clear boss.' Tony explained as they re-grouped in the living room, as Penny opened the dusty old curtains and allowed some light through. 'So what now?'

'We search every inch of this place, find out why this address was left on First Lieutenant Andrews' body.' Gibbs explained.

The team split up again, ripping off all the boards covering the windows or opening the curtains to allow light in. They all had to admit the place wasn't as bad once they could see properly. The rooms were still very grey though, covered in a layer of dust from years of neglect, but some of the rooms had clearly been disturbed within the last couple of days, as there were voids in the dust made by finger marks.

In the room Tony was looking at he found old papers thrown on the floor of what looked like a study. There was a desk in the centre of the room that was leaning to one side where two of the legs were missing.

The papers looked like they had been placed there recently, as they were still white, unlike the ones below which were yellow. Not only had someone scattered the papers on the floor, but they had then walked over the top of them, leaving clear boot prints.

As he walked round the desk he could see that there had once been drawers in it, but they had been ripped out and thrown against the wall behind. Now all that was left of the drawers was a small pile of splintered wood in a heap.

Tony began to photograph of all the evidence, pleased to see that they had some usable finger prints as well as the boot prints.

'Someone's definitely been here boss, I've got fresh boot and finger prints here…' Tony shouted.

'…me too!' Penny replied from another room further down the corridor.

She had chosen to go into one of the bedrooms, which was practically empty apart from an old metal bed frame laid on its side and a chest of drawers. There were drawers laid on the floor from the chest of drawers, someone had definitely been looking for something.

She also noticed that there were papers on the floor, but these were old newspaper clippings from the murders that had been committed by Trescott. She picked one of them up and saw a photograph of the entire Trescott family; next to their photo was a single picture of Guy Trescott who had murdered them. Looking at the photographs made her shiver. She didn't like this place and she couldn't wait to get out.

'Someone has definitely been here and they were looking for something too.' She said as she put the news clippings down and photographed the evidence.

She began lifting prints from the drawers and was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice she was being watched. The person watched her through a grate in the wall, biding his time until the time was right. He watched as she disappeared into the en-suit bathroom and she'd walked straight into his trap.

She photographed the broken mirror on the floor and was bent over the pieces as she examined them. She didn't realise that a gas was being pumped into the room until it was too late. She felt her head become fuzzy and she knew she had to get to the others. She tried shouting, but her voice wouldn't come out. She managed to take a couple of steps forward before succumbing to the gas, immediately becoming unconscious.

Her body made a soft thump on the floor and her attacker knew he had to work quickly. He entered the room through a secret opening in the wall cavity, collecting her body and dragging her into his secret space.

A few minutes later Gibbs walked down the corridor to where Penny had been working. He hadn't heard her for some time, but he figured she'd probably been distracted by something. He entered the bedroom and expected to see her working, but instead he found her camera on the floor, the lens smashed from its impact.

'Ziva, Tony, McGee!' He shouted as he realised she was missing.

The three agents rushed into the room and were astounded by what they found. None of them could understand where Penny had gone or how someone could have taken her; after all, they'd only been a few rooms down.

'Search this building from top to bottom; rip it apart if you have to. Just make sure you find her.' Gibbs said as they all split up once again and began tearing each room apart as instructed.

He could feel his heart racing beneath his rib cage as they searched desperately for her, wondering where she was and how she could disappear. Little did any of them know just what was about to happen to them and to Penny.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and McGee searched the house from top to bottom for some sign of Penny, but they found nothing. When they looked outside Tony and McGee found fresh tyre marks, but this was the only indication that someone else had been there.

'I want someone guarding this place until she's found!' Gibbs shouted as they prepared to leave for the navy yard.

Tony immediately phoned NCIS to arrange for someone to follow Gibbs' orders, making sure he got into the car quickly before Gibbs drove off.

They were all used to Gibbs's driving being erratic, but this time it was different. His sense of urgency was more apparent as he sped through the Washington streets, his foot barely lifting from the accelerator or touching the brake.

When they arrived back at the navy yard the team were relieved to get there in one piece. They literally stumbled out of the car and marched through the building and straight to the bullpen.

'McGee take this to Abby, see what you can find.' Gibbs ordered as he handed Penny's camera to him. 'Tony…'

'…look through the CCTV footage from the surrounding streets, see if Penny is seen on any of them.' Tony finished for him.

'Ziva…' Gibbs said before she cut in as well.

'…gather more information on the house and on First Lieutenant Guy Trescott.' She said, returning quickly to her desk.

Happy with the response he received, Gibbs watched as his agents went to work on their assigned tasks. Now it was time for his task, the most difficult one of them all. He reluctantly left the bullpen and headed down to his truck.

He drove on auto-pilot the whole way home, worried sick about Penny and wondering where the hell she was and what was going on. He was worried about telling Jenny about Penny's disappearance, knowing, understandably, how upset and worried she was going to get, but she had a right to know what was going on.

He took a deep breath as he parked his truck and walked up to the house. He opened the door and walked into their living room, where Jenny was sat feeding baby Olivia.

'You're home early.' She stated with confusion, turning to worry when she saw the look on his face. 'What's happened?'

Gibbs settled himself on the sofa in front of her, trying to find the words to tell her that her daughter was missing. It was this part of his job that he hated the most, but it was ten times worse when it was someone you knew.

'Our investigation took us to a house on Elm Street; we went in, checked every room, but the place was empty. However, whilst we were all collecting evidence in different rooms…Jen…' He explained, but was lost for words.

'What's happened to Penny Jethro?' Jenny asked quietly.

'We don't know yet. When we went into where she was working she was gone, camera laid on the floor smashed up and no sign of her or an intruder.' Gibbs explained and felt his heart ache as he looked at the pain his wife was in.

Jenny felt as if her world was crumbling beneath her and felt bile rise up from her stomach.

'Do you want me to come down?' She asked quietly.

'No I think it's best if you stay here, just for now. I can stay here with you if you want though.' He replied as he placed his hand over hers.

'No Jethro, that's OK, I want you to get back out there and find her.' She said.

Gibbs could see a new look of calm and determination appear on Jenny's face and he knew that he had to help find her.

'We'll find her Jen.' He said comfortingly as he stood up. He then leant over his wife and kissed her lovingly on the forehead and then kissed his daughter.

He then headed straight back to NCIS, determined that they'd be able to find something. It was beginning to get dark again meaning any physical search would be hindered; therefore, he was going to have to rely on McGee's computer searches and on the evidence found at the scene.

When he finally entered the bullpen there was a flurry of activity from his agents and the looks on their faces told him that they'd found something very worrying.

'What've you got?' He asked them.

'Something you're not going to like Boss.' Tony said as he gave a worried glance to Ziva.

'When I was doing my background research on Trescott I came across a report that was filed two days ago. It seems that he managed to escape from prison and a BOLO has been issued for him, but there have been no reports of his whereabouts.' Ziva explained.

'That's when I decided to try matching the tyre marks we found at the scene.' McGee explained as he brought the pictures up on the plasma screen. 'They belong to a 1982 Chevy Silverado truck.'

'What did Trescott drive?' Gibbs asked, worried about the answer he was about to receive.

'A 1982 Chevy Silverado – it was never recovered.' McGee explained.

An eerie silence then fell between them for a few moments as they all contemplated what this information meant for the youngest member of team Gibbs.

It was at that moment that McGee received an email from an address he didn't recognise. He opened it to discover a link to a video. He opened the link and then gasped in horror after a few moments. He brought the link up on the plasma screen so that they could all see.

The video link was to a live feed, showing Penny inside a coffin, but none of them could tell whether or not she was alive.

After watching in horror for a few moments the live feed cut to another shot showing someone shrouded in darkness, but they all knew who it was without seeing his face.

'Greetings NCIS. I suppose you will be feeling rather confused about this whole situation. Well let me share it with you. Your agent is very much alive, for how long though I can't guarantee; however, your chances of locating her are slim. She's buried underground so you can't find her, but you can endure the torment of watching her die, then you might finally know what it's like to watch your friends and colleagues die in front of your eyes, knowing that you're powerless to stop it from happening. She'll come round in a while, then you can endure listening to her screams and cries for help.' Trescott shouted, clearly upset and unhinged.

The video feed then went back to Penny who was unconscious, underground and quickly running out of time as the team looked on, helpless and shocked.


	5. Chapter 5

Jenny rushed into the NCIS squad room as she pushed Olivia in her pram. Gibbs had phoned her as soon as they'd received the video, but he hadn't told her the full story of what was going on; he didn't think that was suitable over the phone. However, there were so many things running through her mind, all she wanted was to be put out of her misery.

She saw him standing by the window looking out onto the Navy Yard drinking coffee; it was a slightly comforting sight, but only slightly.

The others had disappeared into MTAC where McGee had transferred the live feed to. They wanted to be able to keep the feed on constantly until Penny was found, but they also wanted privacy to do so.

On seeing his wife Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief and he immediately hugged her tightly. They were both worried sick to the pit of their stomachs, but he still had yet to break the news of the latest development to her.

'Are you OK?' He whispered into her ear as he hugged her tightly.

'What's happened to her Jethro? You wouldn't tell me over the phone, so it must be serious; is she…' Jenny began to say before breaking off, tears running down her cheeks.

'No she's not; but she is in serious danger.' He said quietly, stroking a tear from her face.

'I don't understand.' She replied quietly.

'About an hour ago we got a video link from the guy who's kidnapped her and it's not good Jen. He's…' Gibbs began to explain but found that he was lost for words, struggling to even comprehend what was happening; something that was really beginning to annoy Jenny.

'Jethro, will you just tell me what's going on?!' She said, her voice slightly raised and impatience evident in her tone.

'She's unconscious and buried in a casket underground. The son of a bitch has put a camera inside so that we can watch her die.' Gibbs replied, a little more forcefully than he'd intended and certainly not how he wanted to break the news to her.

He could see the tears really starting to flow down her face as she struggled to cope with her emotions, and he felt guilty for the way he had just broken the news to her.

'Come on, I'll take you to MTAC.' He whispered to her as he held her close, kissing her forehead and trying to comfort her.

In MTAC McGee sat and watched the screen intently, frightened to take his eyes off Penny for a second. He could feel his heart racing, his hands and brow were sweaty.

'Has she come round yet?' Tony asked as he and Ziva joined him in MTAC. They'd just been down to break the news to Ducky, Jimmy and Abby.

'Not yet, she's still sedated. I hope she stays that way until we find her.' McGee said.

'Why's that McGee?' Ziva asked, a little confused by his statement.

'Well can you imagine what it would be like to wake up buried alive underground?' McGee said angrily. 'Being buried alive is Penny's worst fear.' He added as he choked back a sob.

'Don't worry McGee, we'll find her.' Tony said softly as he placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

At that moment they were joined by Jenny, Gibbs and baby Olivia. No one really knew what to say to the other and each were reluctant to turn and face the image on the screen. It was finally Gibbs who broke the awkward silence.

'What've you got McGee?' He asked.

'Not a lot Boss. I've been trying to trace the signal for the video feed; however, he's using a program to mask it, so I'm not able to get an accurate fix.' McGee explained despondently.

Gibbs then turned his attentions to Tony and Ziva, but they didn't look like they'd had much luck either.

'Have you managed to find anything further about Trescott?'

'Well we located a sighting of a vehicle that could potentially have been his leaving the scene. We've requested more CCTV from the surrounding area and I've put another BOLO out, but so far got nothing back.' Tony explained.

'Right well go down to the location where they were last seen; knock on doors, get people to remember.' Gibbs replied and then watched as they left.

McGee was back to typing away, trying every way he knew how to try and trace where the feed was coming from. He worked for hours trying to locate something that would help them, whilst Gibbs and Jenny stared intently at the screen.

They were grateful that in the hours that passed Penny remained unconscious; however, their relief was short lived when she begin to stir in the early hours of the morning.

At first her eyes felt groggy, along with her head. As she came round a little more she expected her hands to be tied and to be gagged; but she found that she could move freely. That was until she moved her hand up and found that it hit something hard a couple of inches above her.

At first she thought she was still in her abductors car, as she vaguely remembered coming round shortly after being taken; however, she remembered that in the trunk she didn't have enough room to stretch out, whereas now she was laid flat on her back. Also now she was laid on a cushioned surface, unlike before when she'd felt a crowbar or wheel jack underneath her.

As the fog of sleep lifted further she soon realised what was going on, and she felt her heart begin to race. She frantically started to grapple around and began to cry with fear when she realised the danger she was in. Suddenly a light came on towards her feet, illuminating the casket and allowing her to see everything clearly for the first time.

In MTAC Gibbs tried to comfort Jenny who was obviously inconsolable as she saw her daughter so distressed, especially after Penny, albeit pointlessly, began to scream for help.

They all watched in horror as she suddenly went quiet when the menacing voice of her attacker was then heard.

'Scream all you want Special Agent Shepard, no one can hear you. You're buried in your final resting place, six foot underground somewhere no one can find you. You have enough oxygen to sustain you for a few more hours, but ultimately you will perish slowly. If you want to save yourself from that misery you will find your hand gun to your left; but be warned that if you end your life, I will go after the others. I may decide otherwise if you allow them to watch you suffer…yes that's right; there's a camera in there with you. Your every movement is being watched by me and your family as we speak.' Trescott explained menacingly.

Penny placed her left hand down and felt the gun beside her. She began to sob once again as she clutched the gun to her.

Jenny watched helplessly, tears rolling down her cheeks and her heart breaking with every beat. Gibbs held her tightly as he tried to control his own emotions, but struggling to get the situation under control.

'I wish I could talk to her, tell her everything will be OK.' She said as she looked back at the screen.

At that moment Abby entered with some paper in her hands. She clearly wasn't her usual bubbly self and looked as if she'd been crying.

'What've you got Abs?' Gibbs asked as she handed him the papers in her hand.

'I ran some tests on the mineral compounds of the soil found on First Lieutenant Andrews' clothing and matched it to East Potomac Park.'

'That would make sense Boss. It's closest to where he lived and his wife said that's usually where he went to jog at night.' McGee said.

'Are Tony and Ziva back yet?' Gibbs asked.

'Yeah they've been back for ages. They're in the bullpen sifting through all the CCTV footage they found.' Abby explained.

'Right I'll go speak to them. Will you be alright?' He asked Jenny.

'I'll be fine; I've got Abs and McGee.' She replied before he disappeared.

As he passed Abby he placed his hand on her forehead again. She didn't feel as hot as before, but she looked as white as a sheet and still felt a little clammy.


	6. Chapter 6

When he arrived at the bullpen he saw Ziva and Tony staring at the TV screen in front of them and were clearly arguing about something. However, on this occasion their argument wasn't sexually fuelled like normal, they were clearly affected by something on the film footage.

'What've you got?' He asked as he swept in.

'Well we've found a vehicle that appears on four of the videos we collected. It's a Chevy Silverado, I think the licence plate says 526-775 but Ziva thinks it reads 528-776.' Tony explained whilst looking annoyed at Ziva.

'It does read 528-776.' Gibbs replied as he squinted at the screen.

Tony looked in shock at the screen and squinted further, then turned and looked at Gibbs, still unconvinced.

'Are you sure Boss? Because that definitely looks like a six and a five to me.' He said, but then received the silent Gibbs look which soon put paid to that thought. 'Of course, it's six and a five.'

'Get a BOLO out on that vehicle immediately and find out where it went.' Gibbs replied before disappearing again and back up to MTAC.

As he entered he saw Jenny pacing the floor consoling baby Olivia whilst trying to control her own tears. The baby was picking up on her mother's anxiety and the tension in the room, and the young child's tears were adding to the distress felt by everyone.

Gibbs took the baby from Jenny and began to slowly cradle her whilst Jenny grabbed a fresh bottle. He glanced over at McGee who was sat at the computer frantically typing away and was then suddenly joined by Abby.

He watched as the visibly upset young woman first hugged her friend tightly then sat beside him. They conferred with each other quietly before they both began to frantically type away.

'What's going on?' Gibbs asked them.

'Well Boss I think I might be able to use the feed to hack into the system Trescott is using. If I can do that then I'll be able to reverse the audio facility so that we can talk to Penny, the same way Trescott did. With any luck I might also be able to trace where the feed is coming from.' McGee explained.

'Good work McGee.' He replied softly, but neither McGee nor Abby thought so.

'Well Boss, I haven't done it yet.'

The room fell silent once again for a few moments until McGee leapt from his seat with delight.

'I've done it!' He exclaimed, handing round a headset to Jenny, Gibbs and Abby before putting one on himself.

'Can we talk to her now McGee?' Jenny asked.

'Yeah, she should be able to hear us now.' McGee replied as he joined them in front of the screen.

'Penny?' Jenny said softly, and they all heard Penny's soft sobs quieten for a few moments.

Her brow creased in confusion at the sound her mother's voice and she began to think she was hallucinating; that was until she heard her name called again.

'Mom?' She asked.

'Yeah it's me. Gibbs, McGee and Abby are here too.' Jenny explained. 'Are you alright?'

'Apart from being in my worst nightmare I'm just peachy.' She replied sarcastically, which made Jenny smile. Even in the face of disaster she still had a sense of humour.

'Don't worry Pen; I'm trying to trace the feed. We'll have you in no time.' McGee replied as he returned to his computer and began to type away. He was determined that he was not going to be beaten.

'Are you hurt Penny?' Gibbs asked as he placed his arm supportingly around Jenny's waist.

'I don't think so. I still feel a bit groggy but other than that I think I'm fine. I just wish I could get out of here.'

'Well McGee's trying to trace the feed, Ziva and Tony are working on locating Truscott's vehicle once you were taken. Is there anything you can tell us about what happened?' Gibbs said.

'I don't really remember a lot Gibbs. I was in the room one minute, the next thing I remember is waking up in some sort of barn or out building.' Penny explained as a tear ran down her cheek.

'Did anything happen whilst you were there?' Jenny asked, her voice breaking as tears formed in her eyes as well.

'Not a lot that I can recall. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness and he wasn't really around a lot. I did get up at one point to try and find an escape, but he came back in and hit me in the face.' She explained as she placed a hand over her cut lip, something no one had noticed before now.

'Any idea how long you were in there for?' Gibbs asked.

'Not sure, a couple of hours maybe.' She replied. 'Gibbs you have to get me out of here.'

'Don't worry Penny, we're working on it.' He said softly, turning to look at McGee, who slowly shook his head.

The video feed was proving to be elusive, but he wasn't beaten yet. He was determined that he was not going to be beaten by anyone or any computer system. He decided to go down a different route and hoped he'd be successful.

'Keep talking to her, keep her calm and let me know if she remembers anything.' Gibbs whispered to Jenny.

He walked over to Abby and tapped her on the shoulder.

'Let's see what you've got Abs.' He said as he led her down to her lab.

Whilst McGee was trying to locate the feed, he was hoping Abby could tell them more about the location through forensics.


End file.
